Slow Boat

to Gaza Ray McGovern tells of the efforts of a small group of americans to break ’s siege of gaza

ColdType Ray McGovern, a veteran army officer and former CIA analyst, tells of the efforts of the US Boat “Audacity of Hope,” part of the international “Freedom Flotilla II: Stay Human,” whcih attempted to break the siege of Gaza in late June, which was stopped and prevented from sailing by Greek authorities under intense pressure from Washington and Tel Aviv. McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington

Photographs by Len Tsou, Laurie Arbeiter and other passengers and ground crew on the Audacity of Hope.

These essays originally appeared at www.consortiumnews.com

© Ray McGovern 2011

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2 | ColdType |January 2011 Slow Boat to Gaza The Audacity of Hope in a Greek military dock after being impounded by coastguards.

May 19, 2011 Americans determined to speak to the ❝ aspirations of the 1.5 million ordinary An open letter to With respect Gazans yearning to be free. President Obama to the We will be delivering thousands of let- situation in ters of support and friendship from other Dear Mr. President: Gaza, perhaps ordinary Americans who are persuaded, our speech on the Middle East you will agree as Dr. King put it, that “injustice any- earlier today emboldens me to that it hardly where is a threat to justice everywhere.” claim your protection as we set suffices to I write you for assurance of your sup- out to put flesh on your rheto- bemoan the port and protection as we try to embody Yric. Fifty of your fellow citizens will be your rhetoric. You emphasized that “the fate of one sailing on “The Audacity of Hope” to “Palestinian supports a set of universal Gaza next month. rights,” and that this US support is “not who lost three You spoke eloquently today about a secondary interest.” It is, rather, “a top daughters to “times in the course of history when the priority that must be translated into con- Israeli shells action of ordinary citizens spark move- crete actions.” in Gaza,” who, ments for change because they speak Bold words. With respect to the situ- as you put it, to a longing for freedom that has been ation in Gaza, though, perhaps you will building up for years.” And you lament- has a “right agree that it hardly suffices to bemoan ed “failure to speak to the broader aspi- to feel angry” the fate of one “Palestinian who lost rations of ordinary people.” three daughters to Israeli shells in Gaza,” We, the passengers and crew of “The who, as you put it, has a “right to feel Audacity of Hope,” sailing to Gaza in angry.” June together with the 2nd International That Palestinian and his dead daugh- Freedom Flotilla, represent ordinary ters are four, but 1,400 Gazans were killed

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by Israeli forces in December 1998-Janu- briefing papers. These points transcend ary 1999 – and 1.5 million Gazans remain ❝ rhetoric and spring from a faith heritage deprived of the universal rights of which Many you share with Netanyahu. They deal you spoke. Americans with the doing of justice, the preoccupa- Gaza is a sequestered, crowded open- have long been tion of the prophets of the Judeo-Chris- air prison, in which Israel keeps “inmates” puzzled that tian tradition. at a subsistence level of existence. This you choose Before your meeting, have a look at amounts to the kind of collective punish- to exempt what Isaiah says about “proclaiming ment banned by international law and is Gazans from liberty to captives and release to prison- enforced by an equally illegal Israeli na- your concern ers” and how Jesus of Nazareth repeats val blockade. about universal that, word for word, eight centuries lat- Many Americans have long been puz- rights, and have er. Think about it, and be prepared to put zled that you choose to exempt Gazans justice above politics. tired of waiting from your concern about universal rights, Please let us – and the world – know for a cogent and have tired of waiting for a cogent ex- how the discussion goes. explanation planation. So we ask you to look upon our Yours truly, voyage to Gaza as our attempt to imple- Ray McGovern ment your rhetoric about what ordinary citizens can do – not only to “speak” but to act to meet the broader aspirations of June 18, 2011 the ordinary people of Gaza. On May 20, you will have an opportu- Gaza and nity to inform Israeli Prime Minister Ben- jamin Netanyahu of our intention to sail American ‘Security’ to Gaza next month. You have probably tuffing my backpack before- set already been briefed on Israel’s far-flung ting out to board “The Audacity diplomatic and propaganda offensive to of Hope,” the US boat to Gaza, I prevent our boat and the other boats of got a familiar call from yet anoth- the international flotilla from embarking Ser puzzled friend, who said as gently as for Gaza. the words allow, “You know you can get Indeed, the Israelis may be embold- killed, don’t you?” ened by your lack of response to the I recognize this caution as an expres- killing of nine passengers, including an sion of genuine concern from friends. American citizen, on the 2010 relief flo- From some others – who don’t care about tilla and the wounding of dozens of other Gaza’s plight or who do not wish us well peaceful passengers. This year we expect – the words are phrased somewhat differ- you to speak up for us beforehand. ently: “Aren’t you just asking for it?” And please do not try to pretend that That was the obligatory question/ac- $3 billion of our taxes – our annual gift cusation at the end of a recent interview to Israel – cannot be translated into the taped for a BBC-TV special scheduled to kind of leverage that will spare “The Au- air this coming week as we put to sea to dacity of Hope” from harm at the hands break – or at least draw attention to – of the “Israeli Defense Forces.” Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and the Finally, allow me to suggest talking suffering it inflicts on the people there. points not likely to be included in your I also have been cautioned by a source

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Passengers ready to board the Audacity of Hope. with access to very senior staffers at the ment and free passage for Roman citi- National Security Council that not only ❝ zens in trouble. It was a matter of pride does the White House plan to do abso- Americans are and a benefit of being part of a powerful lutely nothing to protect our boat from put in harm’s empire. Israeli attack or illegal boarding, but that way by the Today, the contrast could hardly be White House officials “would be happy if view held by clearer. It is sad fact that “Civus Ameri- something happened to us.” millions around canus Sum” would engender laughter, They are, I am reliably told, “perfectly the world that rather than respect, if invoked by those willing to have the cold corpses of activ- the United of us working on behalf of justice for the ists shown on American TV.” States is partly Palestinians. I mention this informal warning for Americans also face the reality that responsible for the benefit of anyone who may have they are put in harm’s way by the view the injustices harbored hope that the US government held by millions around the world – and and the would do something to protect us Amer- especially in the Middle East – that the humiliations ican citizens from the kind of violence United States is partly responsible for that Palestinians used by the Israelis against last year’s the injustices and the humiliations that flotilla. Better to be up front and realistic face daily Palestinians face daily. about what to expect. As I make my final preparations, let Two millennia ago, “Civus Romanus me turn around the question/warning Sum” automatically won lawful treat- to me about safety and direct it to those

August 2011 | ColdType | 5 Ray McGovern who won’t be onboard “The Audacity of altar of fear and overweening concern for Hope”: ❝ “security.” “You know you can get killed, don’t Bedrock Americans have been so desensitized you?” – if the US government continues American by years of the government’s multi-col- to enable Israel in keeping a million and virtues like ored “terror” warnings and protestations a half Gazans in a densely populated goodness and from politicians that nothing is more open-air prison with few prospects for a honor seem important than the safety of the Ameri- normal life. in very short can people that most citizens utter not The longer that goes on the more supply these a murmur as they watch their tax dol- likely it becomes that many more Ameri- days, having lars enable the worst kinds of brutality cans will become the target of terrorists been sacrificed abroad. seeking to inflict some pain on the great on the altar Or they train themselves NOT to power that stands behind Israel what- watch, preferring the diversion of late- of fear and ever it does. breaking news on Congressman Anthony overweening Wiener’s photogenic “junk.” Suicide Bombings concern for It is mostly to such folks that I include “security” We already know of two suicide bombs the facts that follow, acknowledging that famously targeted against Americans many of you readers are likely to be quite that can be traced to outrage at US sup- familiar with some or all of them. port for Israeli oppression in Gaza. It is for the non-readers, like perhaps The 290 people aboard Northwest those in your family or your neighbors, Flight 253 were spared on Christmas Day that I feel a need to make one more effort 2009 when the “underwear bomber” was to expose the reality that by turning a prevented from setting off an explosive blind eye to Israeli brutality in Gaza, our over Detroit. A week later, seven CIA of- government and our media make Ameri- ficials were not as lucky. They were killed cans a great deal LESS safe and secure. by a suicide bomber in eastern Afghani- I am guessing that only a direct, stan. fact-based appeal has much chance of In recent interviews about Gaza and prompting many Americans to push – about my reasons for going on “The Au- if only out of self-interest – for a more dacity of Hope,” I have called attention utilitarian, and at the same time more to the oft-repeated biblical admonition moral, approach to the festering wound to show special concern for the widow, of Gaza. the orphan, the refugee. The Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) All too often, I have watched eyes will not array the facts as they should glaze over and overheard muted com- be arrayed (if they mention them at all). ments regarding what planet I might be And, of course, that goes in spades for TV coming from. For most folks, such con- “news.” Yet, it is not difficult to connect cern or compassion, if any, seems to stop the dots, once you learn what they are. at the water’s edge. After all, the widow, What follows is intended for people the orphan, the refugee might be a “ter- like the fellow who flipped an obscene rorist.” gesture at me after reading my bumper Bedrock American virtues like good- sticker that says simply, “God Bless the ness and honor seem in very short supply Rest of the World Too.” these days, having been sacrificed on the It is for those who choose to express

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Author displays one of the letters being taken to the entrapped residents of Gaza.

Before the boat’s ‘arrest’ by Greek coastguards: Ray McGovern Passenger Megan Horan smiles beneath with Henry Norr, a California journalist, her message of love.

their exclusive concern for just one seg- peal – like that enjoyed by ment of humanity by chanting “USA, ❝ in Lebanon – stems not from the crude USA” It is for those who have never “Injustice rockets fired toward Israel, but rather heard of, or blithely reject, Dr. Martin anywhere from the tangible help they give to op- Luther King, Jr.’s wise admonition that is a threat pressed Palestinians. “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice to justice And don’t take my word for it. Here’s everywhere.” everywhere” what James Clapper, Director of Na- tional Intelligence, included as a sort of Little Known Facts afterthought at the end of his 34-page l Israel itself helped to create “Worldwide Threat Assessment” before in 1987 as a Muslim fundamentalist, di- the House Intelligence Committee on vide-and-conquer counterweight to the Feb. 10, completely missed, for some rea- secular Palestine Liberation Organiza- son, by the FCM: tion (PLO). “We see a growing proliferation of state l The bulk of Hamas’s popular ap- and non-state actors providing medi-

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cal assistance to reduce foreign disease l Israel and Egypt then imposed a full threats to their own populations, garner ❝ blockade, completing a process begun influence with affected local populations, It is no 20 years earlier and reducing Gazans to and project power regionally. … secret that a bare subsistence level and 45% unem- “In some cases, countries use health to Israel enjoys ployment.. overtly counter Western influence, pre- financial ($3 l From Dec. 27, 2008, to Jan. 18, 2009, senting challenges to allies and our policy billion per while President George W. Bush was a interests abroad over the long run. year), military lame duck, Israel launched an armed at- “In last year’s threat assessment, the and virtually tack on Gaza, killing about 1,400 Gazans Intelligence Community noted that ex- unquestioned compared to an Israeli death toll of 13. Is- tremists may take advantage of a gov- political rael’s stated aim was to stop rocket fire ernment’s inability to meet the health support from into Israel and block any arms deliveries needs of its population, highlighting that to Gaza. President-elect Washington HAMAS’s and Hizballah’s provision of said nothing. health and social services in the Pales- Guilt by Association tinian Territories and Lebanon helped to legitimize those organizations as a politi- The United States is widely seen as re- cal force. sponsible for Israel’s aggressive behavior, “This also has been the case with the which is hardly surprising. It is no secret Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.” that Israel enjoys financial ($3 billion per I hope readers were not shocked by year), military and virtually unquestioned the diabolically clever way these “terror- political support from Washington. ist” movements garner public support by What is surprising, in the words of providing people life-saving medical care. widely respected Salon.com commenta- l It was on that public-service record tor Glenn Greenwald, is “how our blind, (and also because of wide awareness endless enabling of Israeli actions fuels of flagrant corruption in the PLO), that terrorism directed at the US,” and how it Hamas won a key parliamentary elec- is taboo to point this out. tion in January 2006, defeating the PLO- Take, for example, former CIA special- affiliated Fatah party. While the election ist on al-Qaeda, Michael Scheuer, who results were not disputed, they were not had the audacity to state on C-SPAN: what the US, Israel, and Europe wanted. “For anyone to say that our support for Is- So the US and the EU cut off financial rael doesn’t hurt us in the Muslim world assistance to Gaza. … is to just defy reality.” l Confidential documents, corrobo- The Likud Lobby had already succeed- rated by former US officials, show that ed in getting Scheuer fired from his job thereupon the White House had the at the Jamestown Foundation think tank CIA try in 2007, with the help of Fatah for his forthrightness, and the Israeli me- strongman Muhammad Dahlan, to de- dia condemned his C-SPAN remarks as feat Hamas in a bloody civil war. That, “blatantly anti-Semitic.” There can be a too, did not go as expected. Hamas won high price to pay for candor on this neu- handily, leaving it stronger than ever. (See ralgic issue. “The Gaza Bombshell” by David Rose, in Yet, perhaps the most flagrant and Vanity Fair, April 2008, for the entire sad egregious example of this syndrome is story.) the unprecedentedly brief career – six

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To Gaza With Love: The Audacity of Hope prepares to leave harbour. hours – of former Ambassador Chas ton’s blind support for Israeli behavior is Freeman as chair of the National Intel- ❝ risking American lives. ligence Council. It was a brutal Let’s move at this point from the gen- On the morning of March 10, 2009, offensive, eral to the specific, and show how Israeli Director of National Intelligence Den- by any attacks on Gaza and oppression of its nis Blair welcomed Freeman to the job reasonable inhabitants, have inspired a number of overseeing US intelligence analysis and standard, but anti-American terrorist acts – with more praised his “long experience and inven- one that was and bigger to follow as the night the day. tive mind.” That afternoon, the White defended in Christmas Day Bomber House succumbed to pressure from the Washington Likud Lobby and told Blair that Freeman as justifiable Remember Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had to go. self-defense who almost downed Northwest Flight Foreign policy analyst Chris Nelson 253 over Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009? What described the imbroglio as a reflection of was his motive and how was this 23-year- the “deadly power game on what level of old Nigerian of privilege persuaded to do support for controversial Israeli govern- the bidding – however amateurishly – of ment policies is a ‘requirement’ for US al-Qaeda in the Persian Gulf? public office.” An Associated Press report quoted Ab- Freeman’s credentials were impec- dulmutallab’s Yemeni friends to the effect cable. He was not only widely regarded that he was actually “not overtly extrem- as one of the very brightest foreign policy ist.” They pointed out, however, that he specialists around but had this weird ad- was angry over Israel’s wanton slaughter diction to speaking truth to power. He of more 1,400 Gazans a year before. also would not bow to the Likud Lobby. It was a brutal offensive, by any -rea That was simply unacceptable. After sonable standard, but one that was de- all, Freeman might have braced the Pres- fended in Washington as justifiable self- ident with the reality of how Washing- defense.

August 2011 | ColdType | 9 Ray McGovern

Nor was Abdulmutallab the only ter- Taking full advantage of amateurish rorist motivated by the carnage in Gaza. ❝ tradecraft by his CIA and Jordanian han- When the Saudi and Yemeni branches Though most dlers, al-Balawi exacted his revenge. of al-Qaeda announced that they were US media “My husband was anti-American; so uniting into “al-Qaeda of the Arabian stories treated am I,” his widow said later, adding that Peninsula,” their combined rhetoric al-Balawi as although her two little girls would grow railed against the Israeli attack on Gaza. a fanatical up fatherless, she had no regrets. And how does a 32-year old Jordanian double agent So, what does all this have to do with medical doctor, Humam Khalil Abu Mu- driven by Gaza? Readers, please take out a piece of lal al-Balawi, from a family of Palestinian irrational paper. You have five minutes to answer origin get radicalized to the point where hatreds, other that question in three sentences or less. he decides to blow himself up in order to motivations (Those who get their information only kill seven American CIA operatives and a from and Washing- could be Jordanian intelligence officer? ton Post will be granted an additional five gleaned by Al-Balawi’s suicide bombing, near minutes because of their handicap.) looking at Khost, Afghanistan, occurred on Dec. 30, his personal Moribund Fourth Estate 2009, just five days after Abulmutallab’s history attempt fizzled. I continue to be amazed at how many Though most US media stories treat- otherwise well-informed Americans ex- ed al-Balawi as a fanatical double agent press total surprise when I refer them to driven by irrational hatreds, other moti- 9/11 “mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mo- vations could be gleaned by looking at hammed’s explanation regarding his mo- his personal history. tivation for attacking the United States, Al-Balawi’s mother told Agence as cited on page 147 of the 9/11 Commis- France-Presse that her son had never sion Report: been an “extremist.” Al-Balawi’s widow, “By his own account, KSM’s animus Defne Bayrak, made a similar statement toward the United States stemmed not to Newsweek. In a New York Times article, from his experience there as a student, al-Balawi’s brother was quoted as de- but rather from his violent disagreement scribing him as a “brilliant doctor.” with US foreign policy favoring Israel.” So what led Dr. al-Balawi to take his One can understand how even those own life in order to kill US and Jordanian making an honest attempt to follow such intelligence operatives? His brother said key issues closely can get confused. Five al-Balawi “changed” during the three- years after the 9/11 Commission Report, week-long Israeli attack on Gaza. on Aug. 30, 2009, readers of the neo- Al-Balawi actually volunteered with conservative Washington Post were given a medical organization to treat injured a diametrically different view, based on Palestinians in Gaza, but was promptly what the Post called an unidentified “in- arrested by Jordanian authorities, his telligence summary”: brother said. “KSM’s limited and negative experi- Adding insult to injury, the Jordanian ence in the United States – which includ- intelligence service coerced al-Balawi ed a brief jail stay because of unpaid bills into becoming a spy to penetrate al-Qae- – almost certainly helped propel him on da’s hierarchy and provide actionable in- his path to becoming a terrorist … He telligence to the CIA. stated that his contact with Americans,

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The cargo: Not weapons, but thousands of letters of solidarity to the people of Gaza. while minimal, confirmed his view that “Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ the United States was a debauched and ❝ but rather, they hate our policies. The racist country.” Are we overwhelming majority voice their ob- Apparently, the Post found this revi- starting to get jections to what they see as one-sided sionist version politically more conve- the picture support in favor of Israel and against Pal- nient, in that it obscured Mohammed’s of what estinian rights.” actual explanation implicating “US for- the United Are we starting to get the picture of eign policy favoring Israel.” States is up what the United States is up against in It’s much more comforting, if a bit of against in the the Muslim world – and, more impor- a stretch, to view KSM as a disgruntled Muslim world tantly, why? visitor who nursed his personal grievanc- – and, more An enhanced PR effort is not going to es into justification for mass murder. importantly, do the trick. And yet it seems as though An unusually candid view of the dan- the US political/media establishment is why? gers accruing from the US identification incapable of confronting this reality and/ with Israel’s policies appeared several or taking meaningful action to alleviate years ago in an unclassified study pub- the underlying causes of the violence? lished by the Pentagon-appointed US Eye For An Eye Defense Science Board on Sept. 23, 2004. Contradicting President George W. Bush, Revenge has not always worked out very the board stated: well in the past – and particularly not in

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spirals of violence beginning in Gaza. Sheikh Yassin in Gaza? Does anyone remember the brutal ❝ If you have read down this far and killing of four Blackwater contractors on Even the cannot figure that out, you may wish to March 31, 2004, when they took a wrong sainted go back to reading the New York Times. turn and ended up in the Iraqi city of Gen. David Et Tu Petraeus? Fallujah – and how US forces virtually Petraeus, in a leveled that large city in retribution after rare moment Even the sainted Gen. , in George W. Bush won his second term the of candor in a rare moment of candor in March 2010, following November? March 2010, admitted in written testimony to Con- How many know of the epidemic of admitted gress that Israeli behavior endangers US horribly disfigured babies born there troops. His testimony stated: in written since, believed to be the result of deplet- “The enduring hostilities between Is- testimony ed uranium and other US weaponry? rael and some of its neighbors present to Congress If you read only the Fawning Corpo- distinct challenges to our ability to ad- that Israeli rate Media, you would blissfully think vance our interests in the Middle East. behavior that the killing of the four Blackwater Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare operatives was the initial step in this endangers into violence and large-scale armed con- particular cycle of violence; that it was US troops frontations. started by fanatics who – along with “The conflict foments anti-American their neighbors – got the pummeling by sentiment, due to a perception of US US forces they deserved. favoritism for Israel. … Meanwhile, al- You wouldn’t know that the killings Qaeda and other militant groups exploit represented the second turn in that spe- that anger to mobilize support.” cific cycle. Petraeus’s statement is obviously true, On March 22, 2004, nine days before but he quickly came to regret his truth- the Blackwater incident, Israeli forces telling, desperate to retract it out of fear assassinated in Gaza, Sheikh Yassin, a that he had offended America’s influen- founder of Hamas and its spiritual leader tial neocons and the Likud Lobby – and – a withering old man, blind and confined might end up like Ambassador Chas to a wheelchair. Freeman. That murder, plus sloppy navigation Many neocons regard any sugges- by the Blackwater people, set the stage tion that Israeli intransigence on Pales- for the next set of brutalities in Fallujah. tine contributes to the dangers faced by The Blackwater operatives were killed American soldiers in Iraq and Afghani- by a group that described itself as the stan – or by the US public from acts of “Sheikh Yassin Revenge Brigade.” Pam- terrorism at home – as a “blood libel” phlets and posters were all over the against Israel. scene of the attack; one of the trucks that So, when Petraeus’s testimony began pulled around body parts of the merce- getting traction on the Internet, the gen- naries had a poster of Yassin in its win- eral quickly e-mailed Max Boot, a neocon dow, as did store fronts all over Fallujah. writer based at the high-powered Coun- But Blackwater contractors are Ameri- cil on Foreign Relations, and began back- can, you may be thinking. Why would tracking on the testimony. The groveling the “bad guys” in Fallujah blame the was stomach-turning but informative: Americans for Israel’s assassination of “As you know, I didn’t say that,” Petra-

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Sailing to victory: Retired US Army colonel Ann Wright, who resigned her commission in opposition to Bush’s war on Iraq. eus said, according to a March 18, 2010, e- and its humanitarian mission to Gaza, mail to Boot. “It’s in a written submission ❝ we can expect no help from the likes of for the record.” (No doubt the general, Petraeus Petraeus, senior NSC officials, or, for that who is soon to take the helm at the CIA, forgot to matter, President Barack Obama, who will be more careful in the future not to delete the last year maintained a studied silence let his underlings slip hard truths into his trail of e-mails when Israeli forces killed nine passengers written testimony.) with Boot in and wounded fifty in stopping a similar The “horse’s mouth” e-mail exchange which they flotilla. was made public by James Morris, who collaborated One of those killed, 19-year old Furkan runs a Web site called “Neocon Zionist to find ways Dogan, was a US citizen as well as a citi- Threat to America.” He said he acquired to knock down zen of Turkey. Did he have time to tell the them by chance, after he sent an e-mail the story of Israeli attackers, Civus Americanus Sum? congratulating Petraeus for his testimo- Would it have done him any good? the general’s ny. In trying to piece together why I shall implicit In responding, Petraeus forgot to de- be on “The Audacity of Hope,” I came criticism lete the trail of e-mails with Boot in upon these words of Daniel Berrigan of Israel which they collaborated to find ways to in his autobiography, To Dwell in Peace. knock down the story of the general’s im- Dan is reflecting on his own motives in plicit criticism of Israel. [For details, see joining eight others burning draft cards Consortiumnews.com’s “Neocons, Likud with homemade napalm on May 17, 1968, Conquer DC, Again.”] in Catonsville, Maryland: “It was only after the Catonsville ac- Back to the Flotilla tion that I came on a precious insight. As we embark on “The Audacity of Hope” … Something like this: presupposing in-

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tegrity and discipline, one is justified in know folks like Alice Walker personally entering a large risk; not indeed because ❝ as well as through her writings – includ- the outcome is assured, but because the In one recent ing some new ones. In one recent article, integrity and value of the act have spo- article, Alice Alice addressed her reasons for joining ken aloud. Walker the other 49 of us by putting her body on “When such has occurred, matters of addressed her the line in sailing with “The Audacity of success or efficiency are placed where reasons for Hope,” the US boat to Gaza. She wrote: they belong: in the background. They joining the “They got as far as the truncheons and are not irrelevant, but they are far from other 49 of us bullets of a few ‘good ol’ boys’ of Neshoba central. … by putting her County, Mississippi, and were beaten and “There was a history of such acts of body on the shot to death along with James Cheney, a ours. In such biblical acts, results, out- line in sailing young black man with formidable cour- come, benefits are unknown, totally ob- age who died with them. So even though with “The scure. The acts are at variance with good our boat will be called ‘The Audacity of Audacity of manners and behavior. … Hope,’ it will fly the Goodman, Cheney, Hope,” the US “More yet: everything of prudence and Schwerner flag in my own heart.” boat to Gaza good sense points to the uselessness, in- As for me, I will be flying in my own effectiveness of such acts. And, finally, heart the flag of Jonathan Daniels, a immediate and perhaps plenary punish- Danforth Graduate Fellow of 1961, with ment is bound to follow. [Yet] one was whom my Fordham ’61 college classmate free to concentrate on the act itself, with- Brian Daley, S.J., author Palmer Parker, out regard to its reception in the world. and I spent a week of Danforth Fellow Free also to concentrate on moral prepa- orientation on the shore of Lake Michi- ration, consistency, conscience. gan in September 1961. Four years later, “One had very little to go on; and went Jonathan was dead. Here’s some of the ahead nonetheless. Looked at in this rest of the story: light, the ‘little’ appeared irreducible, a On Aug. 13, 1965, Jonathan Daniels, in treasure.” a group of 29, went to picket whites-only Thanks, Dan. I certainly could not stores in the small town of Fort Deposit, have said it better. And my thanks to any Alabama. All were arrested and taken reader who had got down this far. to jail in the nearby town of Hayneville. Five juvenile protesters were released the next day. The rest of the group was held June 26, 2011 for six days; they refused to accept bail unless everyone was bailed. Spirits of Justice Finally, on Aug. 20, the prisoners were released without transport back to Fort Going to Gaza Deposit. After release, the group waited or those who engage in the com- by a road near the jail. Jonathan with mon struggle for Justice, an in- three others – a white Catholic priest valuable grace comes from get- and two black protesters – went down ting to know new friends similar- the street to get a cold soft drink at Var- Fly engaged – and equally willing to speak ner’s Grocery Store, one of the few local with more than words. stores that would serve nonwhites. Thus, it has been a great grace to get to They were met at the front by Tom

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charges by an all-white jury. Richmond Flowers, Sr., the then-At- torney General of Alabama, described the verdict as representing the “demo- cratic process going down the drain of irrationality, bigotry and improper law enforcement.” Coleman died at age 86 on June 13, 1997, without having faced any further prosecution. Jonathan Daniels, my friend who died way too young, was no stranger to the South. He had lived in Kentucky and Ar- kansas as a child. More important, he was educated at Virginia Military Insti- tute, a military college whose history and tradition were inextricably bound with those of the South. He ultimately won the highest tribute from his classmates by being elected valedictorian of his class. As a Danforth Graduate Fellow, Jon first chose to attend Harvard University to study English literature, but had long felt a desire to enter parish ministry. Af- ter a year at Harvard, he was admitted to the Episcopal Theological School. His subsequent involvement with the civil rights movement followed as a logical extension of his beliefs and faith tradi- tion. Ray McGovern protests at the US embassy in Athens after the His considerable knowledge of the relief boat is prevented from proceeding. South was an invaluable help to him and L. Coleman, an engineer for the state to those with whom he worked to bring highway department and unpaid spe- some Justice down that way. cial deputy, who wielded a shotgun. The In a remarkable paper, which Jonathan man threatened the group, and finally wrote during his first stay in Selma, he leveled his gun at 16-year-old Ruby Sales. addressed how our motives, as he put it, Daniels pushed Sales to the ground and can be “healthy and free within the am- caught the full blast of the gun. He was biguities and tilted structures of a truly killed instantly. fallen Creation.” He added: The priest, Richard F. Morrisroe, “I found very real, if ambiguous confir- grabbed the other protester and ran. mation in that beloved community who Coleman shot Morrisroe, wounding him ate and slept and cursed and prayed in the lower back. Coleman was sub- in the rain-soaked streets of the Negro sequently acquitted of manslaughter ‘compound’ in that first week in Selma.”

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At Jonathan’s memorial service, the And so, all aboard “The Audacity of dean of the Episcopal Theological ❝ Hope.” And what grand company I find School, Rev. John B. Coburn, referred to Today, Justice myself in: Justice friends, old – like Ann the meaning he said Jonathan’s life and cannot prevail Wright, Medea Benjamin, Ken Mayers, death should have for us: in Gaza – and Robert Naiman and Kathy Kelly – and “Jonathan says he ‘strained’ an ear to the other new – like Alice Walker, Paki Wieland, hear what he should do. And he heard: occupied Gale Courey Toensing, and dozens of ‘He hath put down the mighty from their territories others. seat, and hath exalted the humble and seized by May the spirit of Jonathan Daniels and meek. …’ Then he knew what he must Israel in the the spirit of Ruby Sales (herself now a do. And he did it. June 1967 war close friend who owes her own prophetic, “God calls us. Life calls us. Mankind productive life to Jonathan’s sacrifice in calls us to strain our ears. Wherever we 1965) be with us – together with those of are, in whatever situation we are called Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman to hear what we should do. Then let us and James Cheney. do it, for a man has died. God has died. They are truly models of the enduring And Love has come back again. So we strength that comes of daring to hope. have hope.” Justice was the main concern not only of the God of the Hebrew scriptures, June 28, 2011 but also of Jesus of Nazareth, and (I am gradually learning from instruction on Thoughts of a the Quran) the teachings of the Prophet as well. Starving Ireland No Justice was to be had in Lowndes hinking further here in Athens County, Alabama, in the Sixties. Today, about how it came to be that I Justice cannot prevail in Gaza – and the joined the passengers on “The other occupied territories seized by Israel Audacity of Hope” and why I in the June 1967 war. feelT so strongly about the oppression in The New York Times made an unusual- Gaza, it struck me that my Irish genes ly candid revelation in 1982 quoting from (as well as my theology) may be playing a speech in which Israeli Prime Minister a role. Menachem Begin, who held that top post During the mid-19th Century potato from 1977 to 1983, admitted that the 1967 famine, when the starving Irish were war was carefully pre-planned by Israel. being treated in much the same way as “In June 1967, we had a choice,” Begin Gazans are today, how much my ances- said. “The Egyptian Army concentrations tors must have wished for some sign that in the Sinai approaches do not prove that someone abroad actually cared about Nasser was really about to attack us. We them. must be honest with ourselves. We de- Did no one know how the Irish were cided to attack him.” being deliberately left to starve to death, The New York Times, which in those while the English were making a killing days was more independent than it is by exporting Irish meat and produce? Did now, actually printed Begin’s words, no one care? though it has forgotten them since. How much in need of support, if only

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moral support, were they? How few had grandfathers. the money to sail from Queenstown ❝ As our Irish cousins like to say: ”Yes, I (Kobh) or Belfast in the hope of living, A century and do believe so.” and perhaps even coming to live well, in a half later, My theology can be summed up in the America? Israeli officials words of Dean Brackley, S.J., now in El How they must have longed to see sails have actually Salvador: of a different spelling or flags of a people bragged about “Everything depends on who you think committed to Justice voyaging to show “putting God is, and how God feels when little the emaciated Irish that someone from Gazans on a people are pushed around.” abroad cared about their plight. Lacking strict diet” then was any meaningful expression of international solidarity. July 2, 2011 A century and a half later, Israeli of- ficials have actually bragged about “put- July Fourth Shame ting Gazans on a strict diet” – in other words, condemning them to a subsis- on the Founders tence living just barely above the point ndignities experienced by me and my where they would starve and perhaps co-guests on “The Audacity of Hope,” subject Israel to charges of ethnic cleans- the American boat to Gaza, over the ing by starvation. But this attitude must past ten days in Athens leave no not stand today in Gaza. Idoubt in my mind that Barack Obama’s administration has forfeited the right to Letter Carriers claim any lineage to the brave Americans Thankfully, four of my great-grandfathers who declared independence from the survived the Irish famine. And both my king of England 235 years ago. grandfathers – as well as my grandmoth- In the Declaration of Independence, ers – had the audacity of hope, so to they pledged their lives, fortunes and sa- speak, to leave Ireland for America. My cred honor to a new enterprise of free- grandfathers found work in the US Post dom, democracy and the human spirit. Office – both of them. The outcome was far from assured; likely My mother’s father, Lawrence Gough, as not, the hangman’s noose awaited eventually became a supervisor in one them. They knew that all too well. of the branches in . My fa- But they had a genuine audacity to ther’s father, Philip McGovern, became a hope that the majority of their country- proud letter carrier in the central Bronx men and women, persuaded by Thomas neighborhood into which my father, my Paine’s Common Sense and the elegant five siblings, and I were eventually born – words of Thomas Jefferson, would con- and where I spent my first 22 years. clude that the goal of liberty and freedom Phil McGovern, the letter carrier. It was worth the risk, that it was worth struck me that, in carrying letters of sup- whatever the cost. port to Gaza, I am trying to be faithful These days we have been seduced not only to a faith tradition with the in- into thinking that such principles have escapable mandate that we “Do Justice,” become “quaint” or “obsolete” – words but also to the Post Office and letter- used by President George W. Bush’s carrier tradition that I inherited from my White House counsel Alberto Gonzales

August 2011 | ColdType | 17 Ray McGovern

to make light of important international row confines of Gaza. agreements like the Geneva Conven- ❝ The tendency is to think of ourselves tions. The tendency as “exceptional” – so special that we As every American should know, and is to think of need not care about suffering elsewhere remember, the principles enshrined in ourselves as in the world, including the suffering en- the Declaration of Independence were “exceptional” abled by our own tax dollars. based on the firm belief that ALL men are – so special It is also sad that many US politicians created equal, that they have UNALIEN- that we need – from the Chief Executive to members of ABLE rights – among them life, liberty not care about Congress – have been seduced by money and the pursuit of happiness. suffering and political expediency into disregard- Not just “all Americans,” mind you, elsewhere in ing our first president’s farewell address, but all people. The Declaration of Inde- the world, George Washington’s warning to avoid pendence was meant to be a statement including what he called “entangling alliances” expressing the “self-evident” rights of all the suffering and a “passionate attachment” to goals mankind. Those principles had a univer- enabled by of another country. sality that was a beacon to the world. our own tax At the time, it was France that Wash- True, American democracy and, in- dollars ington had in mind. Today, the “entan- deed, the Founders themselves were far gling alliance” and “passionate attach- from perfect. In the early decades of the ment” relate to Israel. Common values Republic, basic rights were denied to are adduced to try to justify conflating women, to black slaves, to Native Ameri- US objectives and actions with the goals cans and to many of the poor. But Ameri- and behavior of our “ally,” Israel. cans worked on building that “more per- Why the quotation marks around fect union” and are still working on it. “ally?” Because decades ago, when the Justice was always at the heart of the US government broached the possibil- American ideal. That we still have a long ity of a mutual defense treaty with the way to go in securing that justice must government of Israel, it refused to go not be allowed to obscure the fact that along. Mutual defense treaties, you see, ours is a noble and courageous experi- require internationally recognized bor- ment. Or at least it was. ders and normally a mutual commitment That President Barack Obama would to avoid attacking other countries at will have popularized the phrase “audacity of and without forewarning. hope,” after which we named our boat, The difficulties, which we on “The now seems a cruel hoax, particularly as Audacity of Hope” have encountered at many of us recalled the high hopes we the hands of the Greek government, are had once harbored for Obama the can- clearly a result of Israeli pressure with a didate. Instead of an “audacity of hope,” likely assist from Obama’s diplomats. Obama the president has often displayed In my own writings, I have highlighted a “paucity of courage.” what I have learned about the extraor- But it’s not just Obama. Sadly, all too dinary power of joint US-Israeli influ- many of Americans now think of the ence. But it is something quite different sacred principles expressed in the Dec- to watch that influence be brought to laration of Independence as applying to bear on the government of Greece, a sea- Americans, but not to many others – like faring nation normally devoted to unfet- the 1.6 million people locked in the nar- tered navigation.

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Noisy protest outside the US embassy after the boat is refused permission to sail to Gaza.

mandos attempting to board our boats … well, that one takes the cake. Plus, the accusation by an Israeli official that we had vowed to shed the blood of Israeli Defense Forces. Amazing. On the US side, Secretary of State appears as unconcerned about what might happen to us at the hands of Israeli (or Greek) commandos as she was on Feb. 15 as she watched me brutalized just 12 yards in front of her during a speech she was giving at George Washington University. My offense then? Standing quietly – motionless, actually – with my back Second stage of the protest: Joe, Carol and Kathy on hunger turned toward her, as a way of showing strike outside the US embassy. that not everyone in that audience was And for what purpose? To prevent our oblivious to the killing, maiming and oth- “ally” Israel from being exposed for its er suffering inflicted on millions of people brutish behavior vis-a-vis the people of in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen … Gaza. and the list goes on. I thought I’d seen everything. But the Last week, Clinton charged the inter- Israeli accusation that our Gaza flotilla national flotilla, of which “The Audacity is carrying sulfur to pour on Israeli com- of Hope” is a part, with planning to enter

August 2011 | ColdType | 19 Ray McGovern

“Israeli waters” and warned of the con- They are, I am reliably told, “perfectly sequences – in effect, giving Israel carte ❝ willing to have the cold corpses of activ- blanche to have its way with us. The ists shown on American TV.” Meanwhile, descriptions of last year’s instructions, So here we are, passengers and crew violence, in which Israeli commandos of course, of “The Audacity of Hope,” awaiting fur- staged a night-time boarding raid on come from a ther instructions from the local Greek the Turkish ship Mari Marmara in in- weak Greek authorities, some of whom have been ternational waters in the Mediterranean government quite candid in expressing their embar- Sea and killed nine passengers including unable to rassment and resentment at being ma- one American, get expressed in the pas- stand on nipulated by Washington/Tel Aviv in this sive voice. Violence by whom, a Martian principle new Great Game. might ask. because of The instructions, of course, come In any event, we have long since the economic from a weak Greek government unable made it abundantly clear that we had damage that to stand on principle because of the no intention to enter “Israeli waters.” Is can be done to economic damage that can be done to it conceivable that Madame Secretary Greece by the Greece by the US-dominated IMF, the still doesn’t know that or is she simply US-dominated and Israel, a major trad- spreading a falsehood meant to discredit ing partner. IMF, the our mission? Gazan waters are not Is- We await a deus ex machina to extract European raeli waters. Neither, we thought, is the us from this seemingly intractable situ- Union and Aegean Sea. ation. We remain determined to sail to Israel, a Adding transparent insult to injury, Gaza at the earliest opportunity. And so major trading eight days ago the State Department do the passengers on the other boats in spokeswoman obfuscated when asked partner our international flotilla, at least on those directly, twice, whether the US govern- boats that have not been physically sabo- ment considered the Israeli blockade of taged. (No one has claimed credit for the Gaza legal. This determination to fudge damage to propeller shafts to two of the on this key issue (the blockade is, on the boats, but Israeli officials have been- ca face of it, against international law) has gey about whether they have had a hand not stopped US government function- in any underwater operations.) aries from speaking as if the Israelis are Delays seem to be built into the scen- well within their rights. ery in this part of the world. After all, Worse still, we have learned that some It took Odysseus 20 years to get back to US officials wouldn’t shed a tear if we got Ithaca. our comeuppance at the hands of the Is- In this day of instant communica- raelis. tion, in which audacity can trump cow- Before leaving the United States, I was ardice, we continue to hope. Whatever cautioned by a source with access to very our circumstances, they are light-years senior staffers at the National Security better than the everyday experience in Council that not only does the White Gaza. We are holding that before our House plan to do absolutely nothing to eyes. We do not intend to let the suffer- protect our boat from Israeli attack or ing Gazans down. illegal boarding, but that White House On Friday, the Audacity of Hope did officials “would be happy if something make a move to set sail, before being happened to us.” turned back by the Greek coast guard.

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open-air prison on a narrow strip of land called Gaza. While most of those calling us “radical” hurl the word as a barb, we welcome the label – but radical as derived from the underlying meaning of this word, “root.” Like radishes, we are rooted in soil, the soil of Justice. “Extremist?” Yes, we confess to that too – as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. did in his Letter From the Birmingham City Jail. Replying to those who threw the “extremist” epithet at him, Dr. King ac- knowledged that he was, indeed, an ex- Home-made cards identify passengers who protested outside tremist – “an extremist for love.” the US embassy in Athens on July 4. “So,” wrote King, “the question is not whether we will be extremist but what On Saturday, we were on a coast guard kind of extremist will we be. Will we be wharf with the boat impounded, the ❝ extremists for hate or will we be extrem- crew restricted, and the captain facing Replying to ists for love? Will we be extremists for some significant charges. those who the preservation of injustice – or will we The authorities said the guests were threw the be extremists for the cause of justice.” free to leave the boat, but it wasn’t clear “extremist” A Different ‘Liturgy’ that we’d be allowed back on. So, we de- epithet at cided not to leave the captain. We remain him, Dr. King Our kind of extremism can be seen as determined to go to Gaza. acknowledged rooted in a liturgy that rejects pseudo- It would be a fitting way to celebrate that he was, worship, which prophet Isaiah warned the Fourth of July. indeed, an that God finds sickening: extremist – “Trample my courts no more! … Your “an extremist incense is loathsome to me. … Make Jus- July 8, 2011 for love” tice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. … Gaza and a I will strengthen you … a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, Liturgy for Justice to bring prisoners out of confinement, e passengers on the US and from the dungeon those who live in Boat to Gaza represent darkness. … a cross-section of Ameri- “Do not dwell on things of the past. ca. Yet, if there is an em- See, I am doing something new. Now it Wblematic trait that sets us apart from springs forth; do you not perceive it?” “mainstream” America, it is a common, And, finally, another passage from radical determination to take risks to Isaiah typically read on the Jewish high bring Justice for the oppressed – in this holy day of Yom Kippur, which often is case, the 1.6 million people locked in an observed by many secular Jews, as well.

August 2011 | ColdType | 21 Ray McGovern

“What is the fast God desires of you? ship should be the Church’s central pub- To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, ❝ lic activity – the work, the DOING which break off the handcuffs from the prison- Jews, serves others, while affirming what the ers. …” Christians, worshipers truly stand for and who they Nice image, no? Breaking off the hand- Muslims, are. cuffs from the prisoners. Whether liter- Buddhists, Thus, in its purest and most faithful ally or figuratively, that takes work. agnostics, sense, liturgy requires a lived commit- And, as the passages from Isaiah sug- atheists – ment to Justice, without which it is not gest, this is central to a genuine liturgy all devoted true worship. – the DOING of Justice, not merely rheto- to help Jesus poured scorn, too, on the hypo- ric about how nice it would be. bring Justice crite religious leaders of his day: “Their words are bold but their deeds are few. … From the Greek Word For… to Gaza, to break off They widen their phylacteries and wear Even though we were able to sail only ten the handcuffs huge tassels.” (Phylacteries are small or so nautical miles toward Gaza, it was and open leather boxes containing scripture and good to spend two weeks plus in Athens. the prison worn during morning prayers). Being in Greece again, after more than by lifting In the view of Jesus, these well-adorned three decades, brought memories from religious leaders oppressed, rather than the Israeli the ridiculous to the sublime – from the helped, the poor. I’m sure glad that sort blockade 2002 film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” of hypocrisy doesn’t happen any more! to the lines from Homer memorized dur- Tzedakah is a Hebrew word common- ing four years of studying classical Greek ly mistranslated as charity. But it is based more than a half-century ago. on the Hebrew word tzedek meaning I could not find anyone old enough to righteousness, fairness, justice. try out my 2,500 year-old Greek on. But Unlike philanthropy, which is com- the incessantly repeated dictum of the pletely voluntary, tzedakah is seen in Ju- proud Greek pater familias in the film daism as a religious obligation to be met kept coming back to me: “It comes from by all – rich and poor. the Greek word for…” Liturgy and the US Boat To the ancient Greeks who coined the term, liturgy meant work in service to We had no tassels on the boat, nor phy- others. Leitourgia referred to the people lacteries. But in my view, we had lots of and the root ergo “do” denoted public authentic liturgy. service. Even some of my boat-mate friends In ancient Greece, it was de rigueur for may be surprised to see it put that way. “people of means” to use a good portion Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, of their own assets for the common good agnostics, atheists – all devoted to help – “to give back,” as we might put it today. bring Justice to Gaza, to break off the Whether or not the early Christians handcuffs and open the prison by lifting were consciously following Isaiah’s ad- the Israeli blockade. monition against fulsome prancing in For those of us Christians, the spirit – ostentatious religious displays, they also if not the words – of Martin Luther, the applied the word liturgy to the public Protestant reformer, hung in the back- work of the early church. ground, helping to explain why we did And a good thing too: for liturgy/wor- all we could to place ourselves “where

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Greek coastguard vessel cuts off the Audacity of Hope as it runs for ternational waters.

alty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield except where the battle rages is mere flight and dis- grace if one flinches at that point.” For me, it was a special grace of the US Boat to Gaza experience to find myself in the familiar company of so many Jews from – some of them fel- low Bronxites. It brought back the companionship, camaraderie, and humor that were an integral part of my first 22 years on Bain- bridge Avenue and 194th Street. The comfort level was there from the start, Armed coastguards make it clear that Greece will not let the and it was not just nostalgia. Gaza boat travel any farther. The more aware I became of the par- ticular courage it takes to weather the the battle rages.” inevitable charges of being “self-hating “If,” wrote Martin Luther, “I profess Jews” – even from one’s family and close with the loudest voice and clearest expo- friends – the more respect I gained for sition every portion of the truth of God my Jewish co-travelers, many of whom except precisely that little point which gave adroit but unflinching leadership to the world and the devil are at the mo- the entire enterprise. ment attacking, I am not confessing Whether “observant” Jews or not, they Christ, however boldly I may be profess- personified in a special way the prophetic ing him. Judaism that stood for the idea that only “Where the battle rages, there the loy- justice yields peace – the Judaism that

August 2011 | ColdType | 23 Ray McGovern

pulses with compassion for “the orphans, allies have reason to worry. widows, and the exploited poor.” ❝ In recognition of our modest accom- What a wonderful reminder that re- I suppose if I plishments, we US boaters have now lying on Israeli kill-power rather than had criticized made it onto Dershowitz’s “Dishonor Justice for the Gazans is not truly Jewish. some of Roll!” At first reading of his intended Nor is it safe. As one of my mentors, Dan- the ugly insults, my laughter was uncontrollable. iel Maguire, Professor of Moral Theology extremism in I’ve been called a lot of things before, at Marquette University, has put it: Ireland a few but I cannot remember being labeled a “A tribal ‘Jewish‘ state that ignores decades back, “knave.” the prophet Zechariah’s warning that I would be a Anyone know what a knave is? Does Zion cannot be built on injustice and “self-hating it have something to do with what Da- bloodshed will, as the prophets of Israel Irishman” mon Runyon used to call “the Harvards,” warned, fall into the pit it is currently and among whom Dershowitz has long toiled frantically digging.” as a law professor? Dershowitz also lashes out at the American Jews onboard, including July 16, 2011 86-year-old Holocaust survivor Hedy Ep- Neocons Fume stein, with the shopworn epithet for Jews who dare to criticize Israel’s government Over Boat to Gaza as “self-hating.” I suppose if I had criticized some of y co-passengers and I of the the ugly extremism in Ireland a few de- US Boat to Gaza have now cades back, I would be a “self-hating gone from “High-Seas Hip- Irishman.” pies,” according to the right- But the bottom line is this: Dershow- Mwing Washington Times, to participants in itz’s Likud friends and their neocon chums a flotilla full of “fools, knaves, hypocrites, in the Obama administration realize they bigots, and supporters of terrorism,” says have suffered a stinging – and unneces- Alan Dershowitz in his usual measured sary – PR defeat. They could easily have prose. let our peaceful boat carrying passengers, Poor Alan, he seems upset at our au- media and letters of goodwill reach the dacity not only to hope for humane treat- isolated people of Gaza. ment of the 1.6 million Gazans, who cur- What we boaters appear to have rently live under a cruel blockade, but to accomplished is to provoke the force the issue. To stop our boat before it mighty diplomats of Israel and the could leave Greek waters, Israel’s Likud United States into a full-court press government gave itself a self-inflicted that brought renewed attention to black eye and again brought the oppres- the plight of the Gazans. sion of Gazans to worldwide attention. Instead, Greek authorities, already tied This time, Prime Minister Benjamin up in knots over their national financial Netanyahu’s government did not even crisis, had their arms twisted to thwart a have to kill people to add to Israel’s group of humanitarians and peace activists growing “delegitimization” before the – including poet Alice Walker, retired Army civilized world. Facing growing interna- Col. Ann Wright and Code Pink’s Medea tional condemnation, Netanyahu and his Benjamin – from sailing a boat to Gaza.

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Guarded by Greek coastguards, the relief boat stands at the dockside.

By putting the issue of Israel’s block- a-second-term President will condone ade front and center, we also managed to ❝ just about any action Tel Aviv might un- force discomforted US State Department We also dertake. That makes the situation very spokespersons to dissemble about the managed volatile. legality of Israel’s illegal blockade. They to force In my view, there is more danger, in ducked declaring something so clearly il- discomforted present circumstances, that the extreme legal legal, knowing that otherwise they US State right in Israel will flail out in a very mis- would have invited international ridicule. Department guided way than there has been in sev- But caution. The injured-animal spokes eral years. The Netanyahu regime is in a syndrome among the Likudniks poses persons to very defensive, reactive posture. distinct dangers for the people of the dissemble It certainly appears that the Likud- Middle East – the more so, as we watch about the niks, the US neocons and some of the President Barack Obama continue to let legality of “Harvards” are running scared as Israel’s Netanyahu walk all over him. Israel’s illegal growing extremism and anti-Muslim bigotry becomes harder to perfume over US Appeasement blockade with every passing day. Official Washington’s appeasement of the Beyond expanding settlements on Pal- Likud Lobby seems to encourage Israeli estinian lands and resisting serious peace leaders to believe that not only the US talks, Netanyahu’s government has taken Congress but also America’s lusting-for- to segregating not only Arabs from Jews

August 2011 | ColdType | 25 Ray McGovern but secular Jews from ultra-Orthodox Egypt in the aftermath of Mubarak’s Jews. ❝ ouster is fueling a mini-construction Plus, over the past two years, Netan- As part of that boom in Hamas-ruled Gaza and slightly yahu’s right-wing coalition has lost its propaganda, lessening the jobless crisis. co-opted ally Hosni Mubarak in Egypt we are now Here’s Dershowitz’s slanted version: as well as the once-friendly Turks and hearing, “According to reporting bythe New York bit-by-bit its legitimacy. This reality is fi- again and Times, Gaza has been thriving recent- nally sinking in. Tel Aviv, Washington and again, bizarre ly. Luxury hotels are being built; stores Cambridge see a significantly weakening accounts are stocked with food; beaches are filled of Israel’s worldwide standing. about how with children; and life is far better than And, as for “delegitimizing” Israel, no wonderful life in neighboring Al Arish, which is across one could do that job better than the Li- is for the border in Egypt.” kudniks themselves – the more so, given the Gazans Yet, the few positives were only part of their penchant for knee-jerk overreac- what the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief , tions and risible rhetoric. he wrote, “So is that the news from Gaza The likely “legitimization” of a Pal- in mid-2011? Yes, but so is this: Thou- estinian state by the U.N. in September sands of homes that were destroyed in is being seen in some Israeli right-wing the Israeli antirocket invasion two and a quarters as the last straw. half years ago have not been rebuilt. But Netanyahu’s thuggish regime still “Hospitals have canceled elective sur- can count on influential apologists like gery for lack of supplies. Electricity re- Dershowitz to excuse whatever it does. mains maddeningly irregular. The much- Dershowitz and other neocon voices pipe publicized opening of the Egyptian bor- up whenever Israel’s drift toward an un- der has fizzled, so people remain trapped conscionable apartheid system is noted. here. The number of residents living on As part of that propaganda, we are less than $1.60 a day has tripled in four now hearing, again and again, bizarre years. Three-quarters of the population accounts about how wonderful life is for rely on food aid.” the Gazans. In his pro-blockade diatribe, Strangled Economy Dershowitz depicted a fun-and-sun ex- istence for these Palestinians, who are, The Israeli human rights group Gisha, in reality, trapped in what amounts to a which has campaigned against the clo- squalid open-air prison. sure of Gaza, notes that while Gaza now Besides cutting the Gazans off from has adequate food supplies, “economic the world, Israel has strangled their recovery is blocked by sweeping restric- economy by tightly restricting construc- tions.” tion material needed to rebuild homes, Gisha noted that “The continued ban businesses and schools damaged in Is- on export, construction materials, and rael’s 2008-09 invasion, which killed an travel between Gaza and the West Bank estimated 1,400 Palestinians, compared contradicts the 2010 Israeli government to 13 Israeli deaths. decision to facilitate economic recovery However, to gloss over the ugly real- in Gaza. ity, Dershowitz selectively cites a recent “At least 83% of Gaza’s factories are New York Times article, which noted that either closed or working at a capacity of construction material smuggled in from 50% or less, according to the Palestinian

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Impounded at a military dock, the Audacity of Hope is out of action … for now.

Federation of Industries. The manufac- In other words, the situation for Ga- turing sector cannot recover under the ❝ zans remains horribly bleak, although present Israeli ban on export. … The situation perhaps slightly less bleak now that “Even during the winter agricultural for Gazans Egypt is looking the other way on the season, when Israel allowed the export remains smuggling of concrete, steel beams and of agricultural produce, the quantities horribly bleak other construction material. were economically negligible: an average Under international pressure – brought of two trucks per day, compared to the about partly by earlier challenges to the 400 trucks a day agreed upon in the 2005 four-year-old sea blockade – Israel also Agreement on Movement and Access. has lightened up somewhat on the land “Israel has banned completely goods transport of some goods. destined for Israel and the West Bank, But Dershowitz’s slanted argument is even though prior to 2007, 85% of the offensive for other reasons. Arguing that goods leaving Gaza were sold to Israel some people in the Middle East might be and the West Bank.” [Emphasis in origi- worse off than the Gazans is reminiscent nal.] of the claims by white South Africans

August 2011 | ColdType | 27 Ray McGovern

that “their” blacks were better off than other Arabs might be more miserable some blacks living in poorer parts of Af- ❝ than the Gazans – as an excuse for the rica, thus justifying apartheid. Watch out entrapment and collective punishment of Or the neocon musings in the Unit- for Israeli- 1.6 million people – is the same kind of ed States some years back that slavery sponsored rationalizing on behalf of injustice. wasn’t so bad because Africans who provocations, As for Dershowitz’s insults toward me were captured by European slavers and which could and the other passengers on our Boat forcibly shipped to the New World had become the to Gaza, the old saying surely applies: a chance for a better life – more so than prelude to “Names can never harm you.” But we Africans who weren’t lucky enough to even more would all be well advised to keep a keen be put in chains, crowded into foul slave violence in the eye peeled for future sticks and stones. ships (where many died), sold to planta- months ahead We US boaters have just begun; we tion owners in a strange land, and then will get to Gaza. But watch out for Israe- be subjected to whippings, rapes, endless li-sponsored provocations, which could humiliations and lynching. Yes, the “up- become the prelude to even more vio- side” of slavery. lence in the months ahead. To tout a couple of “luxury hotels” be- Our boat, “The Audacity of Hope,” re- ing built in Gaza, some children at the mains impounded at a military dock … beach and the possibility that some for now.

EXCLUSIVE: The photographs Israel DIDNT want you to see LIFE AND DEATH ON THE MAVI MARMARA

Canadian aid worker Kevin Neish tells how he hid the photographs he took during the murderous Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara, the ’s lead ship, as it tried to break the illegal blockade on Gaza last May

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Israeli commandos executed Turkish journalist Cevdet Kiliclar at close range © KEVIN NEISH / VOLDTYPE with a bullet between his eyes on Deck 4 of the Mavi Marmara © KEVIN NEISH

Read Kevin Neish’s account of the murderous Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of the first Gaza Freedom Flotilla, as it tried to break the illegal blockade on Gaza last year http://coldtype.net/photo.html

28 | ColdType |August 2011 Writing worth reading from around the world

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